Five Things I Learned About Purchasing A Church
As mentioned in my previous blog, I purchased an 1895 Presbyterian Church in a hamlet outside London, ON. The building has not been a place of worship for many, many years and has been an individual’s home or place of business over the years. This property is actually zoned commercial, which is what I wanted.
With that being said, I did my research on purchasing commercial property over the years. I wasn’t going into it blindly of what would be required of me to purchase a commercial property (i.e. down payment). Also, because of my past life experiences, I had knowledge of the costs entailed in revamping the interiors of homes/spaces. However, there still have been twists, turns and sleepless nights during this process. I am not going to lie, some aspects I have figured out along the way with no previous plans - but I had a vision and direction for where I wanted to end up. I did not have an inspection or any conditions upon the sale of the church. I purchased the property during a time when multiple offers and bidding wars were slowing down, but could still happen. I really did take a leap of faith in this process and prayed that it would all work out. Remember, I was preparing to move in another direction, so this building wasn’t must have.
This would be my 7th property in 20 years, but my first commercial property - no two real estate transactions have been the same. Which leads me to this blog. It seems to own a church or an old-school house for a home is on many people’s bucket lists and is very trendy currently. There are many factors that do come into play that people do not think about or know when purchasing these types of properties. The following are the top five things you should consider prior to purchasing an old church or school house:
5. When you start changing or renovating your interior and exterior, you must have the vision to revamp/renovate your living space. If you don’t, it could cost you lots of time and money. Yes - sometimes ideas have to be rejigged because what we visioned wasn’t practical or wasn’t as nice in real time as what we visioned in our head. That is ok if you have to change things around once you start the process, but tearing down and starting from scratch again is costly in labour and materials. Start creating a vision board with your ideas. Bring your vision board to life by adding pictures, ideas, budgets and whatever else is needed to make your vision come alive. I was lucky with my do-overs because it only cost me a gallon of paint. This is where the number one thing you should have comes into place.
4. You really have to know your pricing on products and materials. You have to do your homework and research the materials and products you will purchase. Marketplace, Kijiji, and sales at big box stores were my bedtime stories at night. I would Google and scroll for hours and it paid off in the end. I ended up with great products and materials to complement my vision for my home at great prices. The more money I saved, the further I would get in my projects. Some things I did get lucky on, I am not going to lie, but I did my research and knew my prices. You also have to be thrifty. I wanted to modernize the church but keep some things traditional. One thing I did to save money was a drive to Toronto after work to pick up 100 wooden colonial spinals for my staircase. In my area, I could not find used spinals for my stair railings if my life depended on them. People in Toronto were giving them away. I spent a total in gas $50 for my stair spirals. A single spinal can cost anywhere between $15 - 36 each in the stores and double if they are custom-made. I have an amazing contractor who knew how to make them work (again goes to point one) I had some spinals leftovers and sold them on the marketplace and made 1/2 of my money back. It was worth the drive to Toronto.
3. You have to be mentally prepared for the months of renovations- people going in and out of your home, the dust, the noise and the general mess. You have to go into the project with the mindset that it isn’t all going to be a bed of roses, with rainbows and puppy dogs. There are going to be productive days, there are going to be setbacks and days you are mentally exhausted. Sometimes your vision doesn’t work out and has to be modified to the next best thing or scrapped altogether. That is crushing to the soul. Everything is overwhelming once the reno gets going - it will come at you hard and fast, where decisions have to be made on the spot before the next step can be completed. Be prepared and make sure to have outlets away from the project. I couldn’t do a “peekaboo” window in my kitchen. It would not work unless I wanted to get into steel beams and all that jazz. I was crushed because that was my first “no” and my vision was gone. But it actually worked out better, because it was decided by “my posse” (my mom, my contractor and my contractor’s wife) the whole kitchen was coming off the alter into the main living space. What I was against at first will make for a much better flow and use of living space in the end.
2. Most of the churches that are coming up for sale in these recent years are not zoned residential therefore you will be limited to what you can do with the property unless you rezone it. Rezoning cost varies from each municipality, county and city. It always is wise to do your research prior to purchasing. Here is a link to the Ontario government website on rezoning properties in Ontario: https://www.ontario.ca/page/applying-changes-land-use . Do your research and check the zoning uses before purchasing these types of buildings. This is where having a good real estate agent comes into play.
Mortgages and insurance policies are going to be different too. Some banks or financial institutions do not mortgage churches because they do not want to be associated with churches if they have to foreclose on them. They do not want the bad vibe or to look like the bad guy doing it. It is something they do not want to bare. So they stay clear of churches. Make sure to have a mortgage broker that has handled a variety of mortgages and properties to know where the best mortgage is for you. You do need to have someone with experience. If you do not, it could cost you money in the end.
Also, some insurance companies will either pass because of the age of the building or there will be stipulations and criteria upon the purchase. Many churches are old buildings that probably have not been updated, so insurance companies want to make sure hydro has been upgraded, structurally the building is sound, etc. I was really fortunate that mine was updated in electrical and I had put new plumbing in.
1. Probably the most important point is having an excellent contractor. Some may say this is common sense, but some pretty slick people call themselves professionals in the renovation industry. Do your research with better business bureaus, background checks, ask for recent pictures of their completed jobs and get references. This will make or break your reno/project. This point will cause you havoc or peace of mind. Have a contractor that understands your vision but also can tell your vision may not work because of the logistics. Don’t contract someone who will just go along with what you want. What you want and what can be legally built may be two different things and may cost you in the end if anything is incorrect. Have a contractor that can think outside the box, does have experience with old buildings, has solutions and asks all the important questions. My contractor told me no to some things I wanted to do because it wouldn’t structural work and he could think outside the box for a solution though. He did his job and did it right. He suggested that my stairs and kitchen placement be rejigged to make a better flow of my living space. I did not think of their placements - he did. Also, hire licensed plumbers and electricians. If anything should go wrong, you have a warranty with them. Again, do your research on them.
The bottom line of everything is to do your research. and ask the questions to everyone who you are using to complete your project - especially with these types of old buildings. This process has been a great learning curve for me. I would not change this experience for anything. It will be a long time before I sell “The Church” or “My Church” outside of London, ON. It is a keeper. Make sure to follow along on all the social media for videos of the changes that were made to the interior and exterior. I have accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok to see them.
Landscaping for the front in the first month. The building needed some softness to it.